The Morning of the Magicians, first published as Le Matin des magiciens, was written by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in 1960. It became a best seller, first in French, then translated into English in 1963 as The Dawn of Magic, and in 1964 released in the United States as The Morning of the Magicians (Stein and Day; paperback in 1968 by Avon Books). A German edition was published with the title Aufbruch ins dritte Jahrtausend (Departure into the third Millennium).

Pauwels and Bergier worked on the book during five years, compiling voluminous documentation incorporated into the BNF as Fonds Pauwels in 2007. The authors' primary aim was to arouse the curiosity of their readership, stating "Let us repeat that there will be a lot of silliness in our book, but this matters little if the book stirs up a few vocations and, to a certain degree, prepares broader tracks for research".[3] Cautioned by the hostile reception of the book by rationalist reviewers (notable among whom is Yves Galifret and Le crépuscule des Magiciens "The Twilight of the Magicians"), the authors went on to pursue their interest in the paranormal in the review Planète, dedicated to what they termed réalisme fantastique (fantastic realism).